German paleontologists found in a piece of amber 100 million years old single-celled trapping rings that belonged to an ancient predatory mushroom. Until now, fossil carnivorous fungi have been found only in Mexican amber, which is three times less old. The find showed that predation among fungi has a long history and arose independently in different evolutionary lines.

Predatory fungi live in soil or water and prey on nematodes (roundworms), amoebas, tiny insects (collembolans), and other small animals. To catch prey, predatory mushrooms use sticky secretions, thanks to which the mycelium turns into a real trapping net. For hunting nematodes, ring traps are also used, which in modern predatory fungi consist of three cells. Some trapping rings are capable of swelling quickly, leaving no chance of salvation for the caught nematode. As soon as the worm sticks its nose into such a ring, all three cells in one tenth of a second triple their volume and with unexpected force squeeze the nematode, crushing its outer covers (by the way, quite strong). Over the next 12-24 hours, the cells of the trapping ring "germinate" into the worm and digest it from the inside.

About 200 species of modern predatory fungi are known, belonging to different groups - zygomycetes, ascomycetes and basidiomycetes. It is clear that predation has occurred in the evolution of fungi more than once, but so far almost nothing is known about the chronology of these events. Fungi are rarely preserved in the fossil record. Fossil carnivorous fungi have so far been found only in Mexican amber of the Oligocene or Miocene age (30 million years ago or less).

In the last issue of the magazine Science German paleontologists reported the discovery of a much older predatory fungus in a piece of amber of the Late Albian age (end of the Early Cretaceous, about 100 million years ago) from a quarry in southwestern France, where many small fossil soil organisms, mainly insects, had already been found. At the end of the Early Cretaceous, a coniferous forest grew in this area on the shore of a sea lagoon. Drops of resin fell to the ground and froze, absorbing a variety of small inhabitants of the soil.

A piece of amber measuring 4 × 3 × 2 cm was sawn into 30 pieces and examined under a microscope. Many small animals were found in it, including 79 arthropods and a myriad of unicellular algae, amoebas and bacteria. Hyphae and trapping rings of a predatory fungus were found in four fragments. In addition, several nematodes were found - potential prey of a predator, the thickness of which approximately corresponds to the diameter of the rings. The rings themselves seemed to be secreting a sticky secret. This can be seen from the detritus particles adhered to them.

The ancient mushroom could not be attributed to any of the modern groups. It had two unusual features not found in modern predatory fungi. Firstly, his trapping rings did not consist of three cells, but of one. Secondly, he was dimorphic: he spent part of his life in the form of mycelium, that is, branching thin filaments (hyphae), and part - in the form of colonies of budding oval cells resembling yeast.

The find showed that predation among mushrooms existed already in the days of the dinosaurs. Modern predatory fungi, apparently, did not inherit predatory adaptations from their Cretaceous predecessor, but developed them independently.

To the question What are the predatory mushrooms, how do they hunt and how does a person use them? given by the author Loka Favorite the best answer is - mushrooms that catch and kill microscopic animals using special trapping devices. This is a specialized ecological group of fungi, isolated in modern mycology by the way fungi are fed - microscopic animals caught by fungi act as food. They can be classified as saprotroph fungi that feed on dead organic matter, since in the absence of prey they feed like saprotrophs.
Predatory fungi are widespread throughout the world, widespread in all climatic zones. Carnivorous fungi include imperfect fungi of the genera Artrobotris, Dactylaria, Monacroporium, Tridentaria, Tripospormna.
Predatory mushroom hunting apparatus:

Carnivorous fungi, like common mushrooms, form a mycelium, which consists of thin filaments of mushrooms. However, these mushrooms have special devices for capturing small animals. For example, oyster mushrooms secrete substances that paralyze nematodes. Then the fungal hyphae entwine the worms and penetrate them. Such prey is used by predatory fungi as a source of nitrogen.
In other types of fungi, a special sticky substance is secreted on the surface of the hyphae, to which protozoa, insects and other small animals adhere.
The hyphae of some species of carnivorous fungi form a network consisting of loops squeezing the nematodes caught in them (lush arthrobotris).
Hunting: (observation through a microscope)
Here, wriggling, a nematode crawls in search of food. She whips her sharp end here and there. But here the nematode got entangled with its long body in a system of some kind of rings that resemble the cells of the network. She tries to free herself, but it's too late. The cells that make up the trapping rings, firstly, are covered with a thick sticky mass from the side of the inner diameter, and secondly, as soon as the victim gets into the ring, its cells instantly swell and squeeze the nematode's body like a vice. One can even see how a nematode fixed in this way for some time moves helplessly with its free ends, its movements gradually slow down and finally it completely calms down. Meanwhile, the predatory fungus has already managed to dissolve the nematode's shell with its enzymes, to let its sprout inside its body, which gradually turns into a well-developed mycelium, completely filling the inner cavity of the nematode. In this kind of battle, the following options are sometimes revealed: a powerful, strong nematode, caught in the network of such a spider mushroom, easily breaks the cobweb and tries to leave a dangerous place. But the victim is still doomed: a small piece of hyphae is enough to stick to the nematode's body, so that it then sprouted inside and devoured it.
The nematoda caught in the loops of the magnificent arthrobotris:


Predatory fungi are of interest to humans in connection with the fight against nematodes, which are pathogenic for plants, animals and humans.
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Answer from 2 answers[guru]

Hey! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: What are the predatory mushrooms, how do they hunt and how does a person use them?

Answer from Tanya Trofimova[newbie]
what?!


Answer from Yovetlana Petrova[newbie]
agree with Svetlana Zabelevskaya


Answer from Polina Mushakova[newbie]
I didn't understand, but how does a person use predatory mushrooms?


Answer from Egor Kuzmitsky[newbie]
Predatory mushrooms (carnivorous mushrooms) are mushrooms that catch and kill microscopic animals using special trapping devices. This is a specialized ecological group of fungi, isolated in modern mycology by the way fungi are fed - microscopic animals caught by fungi act as food. They can be classified as saprotroph fungi that feed on dead organic matter, since in the absence of prey they feed like saprotrophs. Predatory fungi are widespread throughout the world, widespread in all climatic zones. Carnivorous fungi include imperfect fungi of the genera Artrobotris, Dactylaria, Monacroporium, Tridentaria, Tripospormna. Carnivorous fungi, like common mushrooms, form a mycelium, which consists of thin filaments of mushrooms. However, these mushrooms have special devices for capturing small animals. For example, oyster mushrooms secrete substances that paralyze nematodes. Then the fungal hyphae entwine the worms and penetrate them. Such prey is used by predatory fungi as a source of nitrogen. In other types of fungi, a special sticky substance is secreted on the surface of the hyphae, to which protozoa, insects and other small animals adhere. The hyphae of some species of carnivorous fungi form a network consisting of loops squeezing the nematodes caught in them (lush arthrobotris). Hunting: (observation through a microscope) Here, wriggling, a nematode is crawling in search of food. She whips her sharp end here and there. But here the nematode got entangled with its long body in a system of some kind of rings that resemble the cells of the network. She tries to free herself, but it's too late. The cells that make up the trapping rings, firstly, are covered with a thick sticky mass from the side of the inner diameter, and secondly, as soon as the victim gets into the ring, its cells instantly swell and squeeze the nematode's body like a vice. One can even see how a nematode fixed in this way for some time moves helplessly with its free ends, its movements gradually slow down and finally it completely calms down. Meanwhile, the predatory fungus has already managed to dissolve the nematode's shell with its enzymes, to let its sprout inside its body, which gradually turns into a well-developed mycelium, completely filling the inner cavity of the nematode. In this kind of battle, the following options are sometimes revealed: a powerful, strong nematode, caught in the network of such a spider mushroom, easily breaks the cobweb and tries to leave a dangerous place. But the victim is still doomed: a small piece of hyphae is enough to stick to the nematode's body, so that it then sprouted inside and devoured it. Nematoda caught in the loops of the lush arthrobotris: Predatory fungi are of interest to humans in connection with the fight against nematodes that are pathogenic to plants, animals and humans. Predatory mushrooms and plants Victims of predatory mushrooms


Answer from Lera Beautiful[newbie]
Predatory mushrooms (carnivorous mushrooms) are mushrooms that catch and kill microscopic animals using special trapping devices. This is a specialized ecological group of fungi, isolated in modern mycology by the way fungi are fed - microscopic animals caught by fungi act as food. They can belong to saprotrophic fungi that feed on dead organic matter, since in the absence of prey they feed like saprotrophs. Predatory fungi are of interest to humans in connection with the fight against nematodes, which are pathogenic for plants, animals and humans.


Answer from Galina Gabdrakhmanova[newbie]
why do you copy the correct answer and answer, so it's not fair in general, compared to Svetlana, she thought, and you plagiarized and so bad


Answer from Fd7ywer fsdtyrrwy[newbie]
The world of predators is so diverse that sometimes you can find another “devourer” where you don't expect it at all. For example, in the kingdom of mushrooms. Not everyone knows what mushrooms are called predatory, how they hunt, how they are useful or dangerous for humans. When it comes to mushrooms, it is rather difficult for us to imagine that some of them are very carnivorous. How can this be? After all, they "sit" in place and they don't even have a mouth? Even more interesting, humans have learned to use killer mushrooms for their own good. How a person uses predatory mushrooms and what they are is the topic of this article. - Read more on FB.ru:


Answer from Kirill shkurin[newbie]
Predatory mushrooms (carnivorous mushrooms) are mushrooms that catch and kill microscopic animals using special trapping devices. This is a specialized ecological group of fungi, isolated in modern mycology by the way fungi are fed - microscopic animals caught by fungi act as food. They can be classified as saprotroph fungi that feed on dead organic matter, since in the absence of prey they feed like saprotrophs. Predatory fungi are widespread throughout the world, widespread in all climatic zones. Carnivorous fungi include imperfect fungi of the genera Artrobotris, Dactylaria, Monacroporium, Tridentaria, Tripospormna. Catching apparatus of a carnivorous fungus: Carnivorous fungi, like common mushrooms, form a mycelium, consisting of thin filaments of mushrooms. However, these mushrooms have special devices for capturing small animals. For example, oyster mushrooms secrete substances that paralyze nematodes. Then the fungal hyphae entwine the worms and penetrate them. Such prey is used by predatory fungi as a source of nitrogen. In other types of fungi, a special sticky substance is secreted on the surface of the hyphae, to which protozoa, insects and other small animals adhere. The hyphae of some species of carnivorous fungi form a network consisting of loops squeezing the nematodes caught in them (lush arthrobotris). Hunting: (observation through a microscope) Here, wriggling, a nematode is crawling in search of food. She whips her sharp end here and there. But here the nematode got entangled with its long body in a system of some kind of rings that resemble the cells of the network. She tries to free herself, but it's too late. The cells that make up the trapping rings, firstly, are covered with a thick sticky mass from the side of the inner diameter, and secondly, as soon as the victim gets into the ring, its cells instantly swell and squeeze the nematode's body like a vice. One can even see how a nematode fixed in this way for some time moves helplessly with its free ends, its movements gradually slow down and finally it completely calms down. Meanwhile, the predatory fungus has already managed to dissolve the nematode's shell with its enzymes, to let its sprout inside its body, which gradually turns into a well-developed mycelium, completely filling the inner cavity of the nematode. In this kind of battle, the following options are sometimes revealed: a powerful, strong nematode, caught in the network of such a spider mushroom, easily breaks the cobweb and tries to leave a dangerous place. But the victim is still doomed: a small piece of hyphae is enough to stick to the nematode's body, so that it then sprouted inside and devoured it. Nematoda caught in the loops of the lush arthrobotris: Predatory fungi are of interest to humans in connection with the fight against nematodes that are pathogenic to plants, animals and humans.

  • Section table of contents: Mushrooms

    We have already heard a lot about the different types of carnivorous plants. But only a few have heard that mushrooms can be predators ... But it really is! First prehistory ...

    Back in the second half of the 19th century, Russian researchers, first in 1869 M.S.Voronin, and in 1881 and K.V. Sorokin discovered and investigated the fact that some soil fungi form closed rings of a certain diameter on their mycelium. The German scientist FV Zopf, who carefully studied this phenomenon, in 1888 came to the conclusion that these rings serve not only for passive catching of nematodes, but also for their active killing. Upon further investigation of this phenomenon, it turned out that mushrooms have a whole arsenal of means for catching prey: there are loops, heads, droplets of adhesive and others.

    Observations have shown that as soon as a nematode gets into a ring or loop, it immediately begins to resist, trying to free itself, which is quite natural. But the more active its movements, the more trapping rings and loops the worm gets into. Two hours later, the movements of the captured nematode slow down and then completely stop. At this time, a sprout rapidly sprouts from fungus to nematode, the extended end of which is called "infectious bulb". First, it approaches the body of the victim, and then penetrates into the worm and grows there rapidly. Soon, the hyphae of the predatory fungus fill the entire internal cavity of the animal's body. It will take only about a day - and only the skin remains from the nematode ...


    Representatives of carnivorous fungi from the genus Dactylaria, which are widespread throughout the world, are of interest. The filaments of the mycelium of this predatory fungus form outgrowths in the form of rings of three cells that react to touch. When a nematode accidentally falls into such a loop, these cells swell in literally a tenth of a second, increasing three times, as a result of which they pull the victim so tightly that it soon dies. Then the mushroom can only germinate inside the prey and digest it.

    There are types of mushrooms that hunt their prey in the water. Thus, the species Zoopbagus tentaculum successfully hunts various amoebas, colemboli, rotifers, nematodes and other microscopic animals in ponds. This mushroom forms short outgrowths that serve as bait for the victim. And as soon as the animal grabs it, it practically finds itself on a hook, from which it can no longer free itself. And it grows, then quickly digests the victim and sucks it out from the inside.

    Currently, mycologists know at least 200 species of modern predatory fungi, which belong to different systematic groups: zygomycetes, ascomycetes and basidiomycetes. All this indicates that predation has occurred repeatedly during the evolution of fungi, however, almost nothing is known about the chronology of these events, since fungi are rarely preserved in the fossil record. In this sense, the German paleontologists were especially lucky, who discovered in a piece of amber 100 million years old single-celled trapping rings that belonged to an ancient predatory mushroom. Fossil predatory fungi were also found in Mexican amber, which can be up to 30 million years old ...

    Thus, predatory fungi are fungi that have acquired the ability to catch and kill microscopic animals using special trapping devices, and then use them for their own food. Predatory fungi are a specialized ecological group of fungi that is distinguished in modern mycology precisely by the way fungi are fed, and microscopic animals caught by mushrooms serve as food for them. The same types of fungi can also belong to saprotrophic fungi, since in the absence of prey they feed on dead organic matter, like saprotrophs.

    • The world of predators is so diverse that sometimes you can find another “devourer” where you don't expect it at all. For example, in Not everyone knows what mushrooms are called predatory, how they hunt, how they are useful or dangerous for humans.

    When it comes to mushrooms, it is rather difficult for us to imagine that some of them are very carnivorous. How can this be? After all, they "sit" in place and they don't even have a mouth? Even more interesting, humans have learned to use killer mushrooms for their own good. How a person uses predatory mushrooms and what they are is the topic of this article.

    Who are they, where do they grow?

    Already from the name itself it becomes clear which mushrooms are called predatory. Of course, those that catch and kill their victims are microscopic living organisms.

    Such mushrooms prefer to settle among the roots of plants or in mosses, but quite often they are also found in water bodies, especially standing ones. Some of them live on the bodies of insects, while eating them from the inside. These hunting mushrooms can shoot spores up to 1 meter away. Once on the victim's body, they sprout inward and gradually eat it.

    Surprisingly, mushrooms are practically the only living organisms on earth that instantly adapt to any climatic change. We can safely say that these microscopic predators spread their nets right under the feet of humans. And these networks are never empty.

    History of appearance

    Mushrooms (predatory and not so) are such ancient creatures that it is difficult to imagine. It is quite problematic to establish exactly when they appeared on Earth, because scientists practically do not come across fossil remains. Most often they can be found only in small pieces of amber. This is how an ancient fossil mushroom was discovered in France, feeding on worms up to 5 mm long.

    Scientists believe that even this prehistoric mushroom is still not the progenitor of modern ones. In the process of evolution, their "murderous" functions have been reborn so many times that it is impossible to count. Therefore, modern hunting mushrooms are no longer related.

    by type of traps

    Since some mushrooms are predatory creations of nature, they, accordingly, have some kind of trapping apparatus.

    More precisely, there are several types of them:

    • sticky heads, spherical, located on the mycelium (typical for Monacrosporium ellipsosporum, A. entomophaga);
    • sticky branches of hyphae: Arthrobotrys perpasta, Monacrosporium cionopagum have such trapping devices;
    • sticky nets-traps, consisting of a large number of rings, which are obtained by branching hyphae: such a device for hunting, for example, has a low-spore Artrobotris;
    • mechanical trapping devices - the prey is squeezed by them and dies: in this way, the snow-white Dactylaria hunts its victims.

    Of course, this one is pretty brief information about which mushrooms are carnivorous and how they hunt. In fact, there are many more varieties of these microscopic hunters.

    How do killer mushrooms hunt?

    So, predatory mushrooms: how do they hunt and who do they eat? Mushrooms place their sticky trap rings in the soil and wait for small worms - nematodes. A large number of such rings create whole networks located around the mycelium. As soon as the worm touches the edge, it immediately sticks. The ring begins to shrink around the body of its victim, it is almost impossible to escape. Everything happens very quickly, in a split second.

    Hyphae penetrate into the body of the caught worm and begin to grow. Even if the nematode by some miracle manages to escape, it will not save it. The hyphae in her body grow so quickly that in a day only the shell will remain of the worm. Together with the dying worm, the mycelium will "move" to a new place and again spread its nets.

    If a killer mushroom lives in water, then rotifers, amoebas, cyclops crustaceans and other inhabitants of the reservoir become its food. The principle of hunting is the same for them - the hyphae gets on its prey, penetrates inside and begins to grow in its body.

    Unknown oyster mushrooms

    Few people know, but popular oyster mushrooms are also predatory mushrooms. They do not miss the opportunity to feast on a gaping worm. Like other hunters, their mycelium dissolves its adventitious hyphae, which produce a rather poisonous toxin.

    This poison paralyzes the victim and the hyphae instantly sticks into it. After that, the oyster mushroom calmly digests its prey. Oyster mushroom toxins act not only on nematodes. In the same way, they eat even enchitreid - rather large relatives. This is facilitated by the ostearin toxin produced by fungi. It will also not be good for those who happen to be nearby.

    It turns out that these mushrooms are dangerous to eat? No. Scientists claim that there is no toxic toxin in the fruiting body of the fungus. The mechanism programmed by nature is needed for oyster mushrooms only to protect against pests - tardigrades, ticks and springtails.

    Killer mushrooms are friends forever, but not always

    Now let's talk about how humans use predatory mushrooms. Can they be useful in economic activities or are they dangerous?

    But predatory mushrooms are not always man's friends. Since the X-XII centuries, mankind has known a disease called in Western Europe "the fire of St. Anthony." In Russia, this disease was called "evil cramps", which fully conveys the patient's condition. The symptoms of this ailment are vomiting, loss of appetite, terrible pains in the intestines and stomach, weakness. In the most severe cases, there was curvature and necrosis of the limbs, the meat was separated from the bones.

    For a long time, no one knew what caused such a misfortune. Only after a long time it was established that the disease is caused by ergot - a predatory fungus that lives in the ears of rye and forms black horns there. They contain a poisonous substance - ergotine. Therefore, today the disease is called ergotism. Bread made from such flour should not be consumed, since the poison retains its properties even at high temperatures.

    Conclusion

    Now you know a little more. In particular, about what mushrooms are called predatory, how they hunt and how they can be useful or dangerous to humans. Besides the fact that it is just very interesting, it is quite possible that such knowledge will be useful to you in the future.

    A predatory fungus that destroys nematodes is undoubtedly a friend of man, but there are fungi that are his enemies. stomach and intestines.

    In severe cases, patients suffered from curvature of the arms and legs or their necrosis, and in a very severe disease, the soft tissues on the limbs turned black and separated from the bones.

    When grain affected by ergot is ground, ergotine is converted into flour. Bread and other products made from such flour retain their toxic properties and, when eaten, cause such a serious illness. It was later called ergotism.

    Tinder mushrooms are also interesting. Some of their properties are used to obtain the so-called decorative wood. At the beginning of its development, the tinder fungus, without violating the strength of the wood, deposits various pigments in it, as a result of which colored spots, stripes, and streaks appear.

    After polishing, such wood becomes especially beautiful and is widely used in the manufacture of furniture, as well as in construction for various finishes and decorations. For example, walnut wood affected by tinder fungus from Kakheti and Guria is highly valued. Under the influence of the fungus, black patterned stains appear in it. And maple wood at the initial stage of damage by tinder fungus is used to make balalaikas, guitars.

    In some northern regions, until recently, one of the species of tinder fungus with a hoof-shaped perennial fruiting body was used as tinder when making fire. Abroad, very elegant things are made from its soft mass: handbags, gloves, frames, etc.

    Some species of carnivorous fungi have changed to habitat in the aquatic environment. In the Oomycetes group, most of the representatives are saprophages (they feed on organic debris), but there is also a predator among them - Zoophagus, which preys on rotifers. The name of the mushroom translates as "animal eater".

    The most popular soil predator mushroom is oyster mushroom. As it turned out, this edible mushroom preys on nematodes. True, the mechanism of predation is different: thin adventitious vegetative hyphae grow from the mycelium of the fungus, producing a poison - a toxin.

    The toxin paralyzes the nematodes, while the targeted hyphae are looking for prey and grow through it, digesting the nematode like all other predatory species. Moreover, the ostreatin toxin produced by the oyster mushroom also acts on armored mites and enchitreid worms (relatives of earthworms).

    The toxin is not produced in the fruit parts that a person eats. And the nature-programmed role of ostreatin is protection from pests (ticks, springtails, tardigrades).
    In addition to the above-mentioned prey, bacteria also get into the "network" of oyster mushrooms. Straight hyphae of oyster mushrooms germinate through microcolonies of bacteria, form specific feeding cells in them, using enzymes to dissolve bacteria and assimilate their contents. As a result, only empty shells remain of bacterial cells.

    Several other tree-eating mushrooms, and even some champignons, also hunt bacteria. Like carnivorous plants, predatory fungi take nitrogen and phosphorus in animals, which are contained in dead wood in scanty amounts (in wood, the ratio of carbon to nitrogen ranges from 300: 1 to 1000: 1, and 30: 1 is needed for normal growth).

    Stem nematode

    Stem nematode- These are round microscopic worms, 0.3–0.4 mm long. Male and female differ little from each other. The larva is similar to the adult, but smaller.

    The stem nematode develops intensively in rainy years. However, vegetative potato plants affected by this nematode do not differ in appearance from healthy ones, only sometimes there is a thickening of the stem with cracks on it and shortened internodes.

    The first signs appear on the tubers by the harvesting period. Small brown spots with a powdery tissue are visible under the skin at the site of nematode penetration. As the disease progresses, lead-gray spots appear on the peel of the tubers, the peel flakes off and brown destroyed tissue (rotting mass) is visible under it.

    The entire development cycle of this nematode takes place inside the tuber, therefore seed potatoes are the main source of distribution. Several generations of the pest develop during the year. The female lays about 250 eggs or more. The larvae that emerge from the eggs go through several stages of development and turn into adults. The high fertility of the stem nematode leads to its massive accumulation in tubers. When infected tubers are planted, nematodes from the uterine tuber pass into the stem (no higher than 10 cm above the ground), then fall into the stolons, from which they pass into young tubers. Another source of infection is the soil, where nematodes enter during the decomposition of post-harvest residues and mother tubers. In the soil, the stem nematode can persist for several years, affecting other crops, weeds and falling into a state of suspended animation under unfavorable conditions. The stem nematode rarely passes from tuber to tuber during storage. Late-ripening varieties are less affected than early-ripening ones.

    Control measures. Careful bulkhead of potatoes and planting only healthy tubers. Alternation of cultures and return To the previous place not earlier than in 3-4 years. Systematic removal of weeds, plant debris and soil digging in the fall.